FanDuel Daily Fantasy Basketball Helper: Saturday 4/1/23

If you're new to daily fantasy basketball -- maybe you started your DFS journey during the MLB or NFL seasons, or maybe basketball is your sport and this will be your first year giving it a shot -- you're in for a treat. The NBA scene changes on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of other great resources to help give you an edge.

Daily fantasy basketball is very reliant on a player's opportunity, so you'll need to make sure that you're up-to-date with key injuries. Our projections update up until tip-off to reflect current news, we have player news updates, and the FanDuel Scout app will send push notifications for pressing updates regarding your players.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each position.

Let's break down today's main slate on FanDuel.

Guards

Luka Doncic ($12,100): Despite a tough matchup against a Miami Heat team allowing point guards to score 22.7 real-life points and 44.6 FanDuel points per game, Doncic is first overall with 53.6 expected fantasy points. In 38.0 minutes in their last encounter this season, the 24-year old had an impressive performance versus Miami's stingy defense, recording 34.0 real-life points and 58.9 FanDuel points on 24.0 shot attempts .

Kyrie Irving ($9,200): Since March 24th, Irving's FanDuel salary has declined by 4.1% to his third lowest point in 2023 while producing 1.15 FanDuel points per minute and a 23.1% usage rate. The Mavericks' guard has found some success against a Heat unit ranked ninth in defensive rating, recording 29.0 real-life points on 21.0 shot attempts in their previous meeting.

Russell Westbrook ($8,800): In 131.8 minutes with Saturday's current inactives, Westbrook's production sees a sneaky 0.27 boost to 1.33 FanDuel points per minute with a 26.8% usage rate.

C.J. McCollum ($7,900): After a 4.8% salary drop, the 31-year old is ranked first among guards in value with a 4.76 rating and a 37.6 fantasy projection against a Los Angeles Clippers' team allowing 50.6 FanDuel points per game to his position.

Tyler Herro ($7,100): At his lowest salary point since February 4th, Herro is ninth overall in value with a 4.46 rating and a 31.7 fantasy projection versus a Dallas Mavericks' team ranked 23rd in defensive rating and 21st in opposing true shooting percentage.

Norman Powell ($5,600): Even in a second unit role, the Clippers' veteran sees a 0.19 boost in his fantasy production to 1.14 FanDuel points per minute with a 29.9% usage percentage.

Tim Hardaway Jr. ($5,100): Since Hardaway Jr. has joined his team's starting five on March 27th, the 31-year old is averaging 0.74 FanDuel points per minute and a 22.2% usage rate in a 60.6 minutes sample size.

Gabe Vincent ($4,600): If Kyle Lowry is unable to play though his questionable designation, Vincent's fantasy output stands at 0.67 FanDuel points per minute with a 17.7% usage rate.

Reggie Bullock ($4,000): At his second lowest salary in 2023, the Mavericks' versatile veteran offers a 4.12 potential return with a 16.5 fantasy projection versus a Heat team ranked 22nd in opposing three point percentage.

Forwards

Kawhi Leonard ($10,000): In a potential lead offensive role, Leonard is fourth overall with 42.4 expected FanDuel points against a New Orleans Pelicans' team ranked fifth in defensive rating. "The Claw" is averaging 1.29 FanDuel points and a team-high 30.3% usage rate in 304.8 minutes with Los Angeles' current inactives.

Brandon Ingram ($9,700): Despite a 5.4% salary spike, New Orleans' forward is second among forwards in value with a 4.7 rating and a 45.6 fantasy projection versus a Clippers' defense allowing 38.8 FanDuel points per game to his position. "B.I." had a monster outing in his last contest against Los Angeles, producing 32.0 real-life points and 55.3 FanDuel points at a salary 10.3% lower than today's.

Jimmy Butler ($9,400): At his lowest salary since March 13th, Butler is third overall with a 44.5 fantasy projection against a Dallas unit allowing small forwards to record 21.5 real-life points and 40.2 FanDuel points. After Bam Adebayo was ruled out, Butler's fantasy production moves up by 0.07 to 1.34 FanDuel points per minute with a 28.2% usage rate.

Trey Murphy III ($6,400): Since March 3rd, the Pelicans' 22-year old forward has scored at least 13 real-life points per game while averaging 0.89 FanDuel points per minute. After a 4.4% salary decrease, Murphy is seventh among forwards with a 4.27 rating and a 27.3 fantasy projection.

Kevin Love ($5,200): In 71.8 minutes with Adebayo off the floor this season, the Heat veteran is producing 0.94 FanDuel points per minute with a 21.3% usage rate.

Herbert Jones ($5,100): Despite an inconsistent 14.5% usage rate, Jones rates as an optimal mid-salary option on Saturday with a 4.65 rating and a 23.7 fantasy projection after his salary moved down by 8.9% in the past week.

Caleb Martin ($4,800): After a 5.8% drop in his salary, Martin offers a 4.16 potential return with a 20.0 fantasy projection while averaging 0.68 FanDuel points per minute with Adebayo off the floor this season.

Nicolas Batum ($4,800): Since the Clippers' veteran was named a starter on March 27th, the 34-year old is averaging 0.75 FanDuel points per minute while logging 24.5 minutes per game.

Larry Nance Jr. ($4,500): New Orleans' big man has seen a recent uptick in minutes in his last two games, averaging 23.5 per appearance and 0.76 FanDuel points per minute since his return on March 12th.

Centers

Jonas Valanciunas ($7,800): In the past week, the Pelicans' big man has seen his salary decline by 2.5% while producing an efficient 1.30 FanDuel points per minute with a 23.7% usage rate during this time period.

Ivica Zubac ($5,700): Despite a 7.5% salary increase, the Clippers' center is a sneaky option on Saturday after his fantasy average moves up by 0.10 to 1.06 FanDuel points per minute in 432.0 minutes with Saturday's current injuries.